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Swiss Bakery
Categories: Food Bakeries Restaurants Sandwiches Bakeries, Sandwiches [Edit]
143 3rd Ave EVancouver, BC V5T 1C7
Neighbourhood: Mount Pleasant
(604) 736-8785
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Dessert, Lunch
- Alcohol:
- No
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
20 reviews for Swiss Bakery
20 reviews in English
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Review from Brian F.
Vancouver, BC
Updated - 4/17/2012 2 Check-ins Here
Had the Meatinator Sandwich today at 1pm.
Sat outside of R&B Brewing Company's loading dock - with my car running - and ate the whole sandwich. Could not stop eatting.
It was perfect.
Thank you Swiss Bakery. That was a treat!!!!1 Previous Review: Show all »
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11/30/2011
Sandiwich was good.
Coffee was great.
Not fair to judge - 4pm is too late to fairly rate the lunch… Read more »
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Review from Beck C.
5/20/2012 1 photo
Having a prudish dinner sometimes leads to pesky pastry cravings.
On this particular day, I wanted French. S'il vous plait.
And this second stomach of mine, in its unerring logic, steered me straight into the Swiss Bakery. Of course.
It was near closing time, so the stragglers left over in the display case looked a bit tired from the day's wait.
Still, the array of mini tarts, cheesecakes, eclairs, cakes & co. were a handsome bunch.
The stud that caught my eye was the almond croissant ($2.25):
- blanketed in powdered sugar (tip: hunch 1st, bite 2nd!) & almond slices
- big & fluffy = good value for the $$
- light fillling delivers strong almond flavour
- flaky-licious, evenly layered, no glaring holes
- a bit crisp from being a bit stale. A bit to do with me buying it so late in the day!
Not best in show, but a most respectable rendition.
I will be back to answer the siren calls of their famous pretzels! -
Review from Simon K.
3/12/2012 2 Check-ins Here
Tucked away on 3rd and Main, this place is a solid bakery. You wouldn't think that this area had anything close to this, and if you drove by, you may miss it, painted in pink, not that hidden, but not that noticeable, this place has some fine treats indeed! This place opens up nice and early daily, when you enter there is a good amount of seats in here, and along the window to people and car watch. Also in the summer you can sit outside, as there are tables set up.
Once you enter the place, you notice high on the wall, in baskets are their display of breads they are selling today, and a tag of the name. Everything is made here on site, and the prices range, but average to $4 a loaf, which in my mind is cheap (remember, these guys also supply to Whole Foods, so you know the stuff is good!). I came here early on this day, and noticed all the plump croissants filling the display, and when I say plump, I mean big, in size, this things are a site if you are a fan, they also have almond, chocolate, and cheese, and they do go in a hurry, the prices for these treats are pretty good.
They have other pastries, like macarons, cookies, muffins, something called a bear paw (which we had on this day), and they cut it up in half and warmed it up for us to eat. Very good service, and a good place not only to buy your baked goods from, but also a spot to sit around, read the paper, and enjoy their treats.
Parking is easy, as the street is filled with 1 hour spots, and you would just never expect a spot like this here. I was eyeing their pretzels as they had a batch, they use fair trade coffee beans here. -
Review from Chauncey B.
Vancouver, BC
2/10/2012
I took a star off for something that is totally not their fault: this is a bakery I walk past on my way to work, at 6 in the morning. So I shuffle past fresh-bread smell every day, and can't have it. I assume they open at 6:30 (I'm not looking it up) because obviously the universe hates me if I'm up doing anything that early. "But wait", you might say, "bakery employees have to be up earlier to make that stuff, which has to be worse," and I would reply that no, you jerk, it is not worse, as they get to eat things right out of the oven and have better coffee than I do on top of all that. The only thing that could make this more painful* is if you could smell the coffee. It's BS, and any person with an ounce of humanity would agree with me. My only consolation is that all those early-morning croissants and so on might make a person fat. Sour grapes, I know.
*besides, you know, tragedy of any kind. -
Review from Kassi L.
Vancouver, BC
4/26/2012
The blueberry tart and the cheesecake are pretty good. I also tried the danishes and croissants from here, but they are not as good as the ones from Faubourg or Thomas Haas, given that this place charges the same as the higher end places. What really bugs be about this place is that I came here on 2 separate occasions: 1st time- I bought 6 slices of cheescake, and the cashier still charged me tax. On the 2nd occasion, I bought 6 danishes, and the cashier charged me tax yet again. Also, I bought some pecan pie from here, and they call it "pecan ganache", but I swear it tastes like the pecan torte from costco, just with some chocolate drizzled on the top. The pecan torte (10') from costco is $14-15, and the "pecan ganache" (10') rom this place is $45. I bought the pecan torte from costco once, and on the same day, I purchased a slice of the "pecan ganache", and it tastes and looks identical to the one from costco. So in my opinion, I will not return, since they charge tax when they are not supposed to and they purchase bakery items from costco and charge the customer 2-3 times the amount. Will not recommend!
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Review from Chris M.
11/15/2011 8 Check-ins Here
This bakery has quickly become a favoured lunch stop run by some very nice people. For all your carbohydrate needs, they do a great job - sandwiches, tarts, buns and pastries, macaroons, mini tortes, full loaves and baguettes, etc. are all available. And yes, the pretzels really are as good as the magazine article pasted proudly at the front door claims they are.
It's a pretty casual space - nice to hang out with friends on a break from work, but there's not a ton of sitting room. Fortunately you can easily take most of their food wrapped up or bagged to go.
The coffee is not bad - perhaps a little on the bitter side sometimes- but it comes fresh and very hot, great to accompany your baked good of choice (the apple fritter + Americano is a solid pairing) They also make rotating soups which can be added to a sandwich for a little extra - the yam soup is a personal favourite. Salads are available for the carb-conscious, but it does say Swiss Bakery on the sign... Also, try a sandwich with cranberry bread if they're available- it's amazing!
For the quality and freshness of the baked goods here, the prices are reasonable and there's plenty to choose from. Small and tucked down a side street, but worth finding for a lunch or coffee break. -
Review from Cathy S.
9/22/2011
The weather turns crappy and I start craving carbs, quelle surprise. The Swiss Bakery is off the beaten path, so I made a special trip here to buy some of their laugenwecken, aka pretzel buns.
I became aware of the deliciousness that are pretzel buns during a recent trip to Calgary http://www.yelp.ca/biz...
The first thing I noticed about Swiss Bakery's laugenwecken are how small in size they are, hardly bigger than a golf ball. if you are planning to make bunwiches, unless you have a toddler-sized appetite you will need multiple buns to quell hunger. The buns themselves are fabulous with a salty, chewy yet tender consistency.
I also picked up a sandwich while I was there: a brie, poached apple, toasted walnuts, bartlett pear, lettuce, tomato, cucumber on ciabatta. I was a little disappointed that the sandwiches weren't made to order and it could have used a little seasoning, but overall not too bad.
The artisan breads and all of the pastries look fabulous and are worthy of a return visit. -
Review from Andrew R.
Vancouver, BC
2/14/2012
I was once a daily visitor to this "corner bakery", it has grown to be quite a lunch time destination for Mt. Plesant. As Swiss Bakery has gained more customers and even improved their interior, their service and quality has declined, yet their prices have gone up drastically.
What was once a sub $10 lunch is now $14+
I went in yesterday for a sandwich and the line was out of control, I was in a hurry and didn't have 15min to wait for a sandwich. The friendly employees were obviously flustered as well, and treated multiple customers rudely.
As much as I like to support the "local" and boutique shops, this will not be one of them. I won't be back.
Also, the cheese they use on their sandwiches is poor quality.
Hopefully Panera Bread Company comes to Vancouver. -
Review from Natalie M.
Vancouver, BC
9/7/2011
I love this place they have sandwiches named after Canucks players (well at least during the playoff they did), fresh baked breads and pastries made to look like swans. My boyfriend loves the chocolate covered cheesecake bites and I love- well almost all sweets but especially the nanaimo bars! Their quiche is really good too!
The staff are casual and friendly, not over the top amazing service, but good service and with a smile. They have tables inside and out, but the close fairly early so you better rush to get there before they close! -
Review from Chris B.
Vancouver, BC
11/2/2011
Holy crap their sandwiches are AMAZING. The tuna on raisin bread has a crazy spicy tang to it. Highly recommend it.
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Review from Lisa K.
2/26/2011
I had a soft pretzel - it was absolutely delicious, although even while eating it I was realizing that soft pretzels are kind of an epitome of white bread... with extra salt. And the pretzel rolls are really quite big. I felt like this would kind of present a conundrum to Michael Pollan - this only has 8 ingredients and the only "chemically" one is sodium hydroxide, so I think that's ok (strangely enough, it follows "coarse salt."). But it's so processed and perfectly fluffy it practically dissolves in your mouth!
Ok, I know this is a bakery and a "sometimes treat" and whatnot. But it's the type of bakery I'm happy to try and glad I don't live too close to, because it's great, but not worth having as often as I probably would otherwise. -
Review from Marc D.
Vancouver, BC
Updated - 3/15/2010
* It isn't just about the pretzels! *
Ok, I've always loved this spot for their soft European style pretzels. It is the only place in Vancouver I know of for that lovely treat.
Today I discovered another item there that is equally as good. Their florentine is delicious!
There is a generous serving of hazelnut praline on top of a rich solid chocolate layer. Delicious crunchy chocolate hazelnut goodness!Listed in: Vancouver Chinese Food, Dentists' Dreams in Vancouver, Which wich is which?, Vancouver European Food, Best Vancouver food sources
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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11/5/2008 First to Review
This Chinese operated bakery offers a good selection of European style breads as well as sweets. My… Read more »
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Review from Reena M.
Updated - 6/30/2009 1 Check-in Here
Now it's as good as it gets because if you go there after 5pm, you get the bread loaves for 30% off! And if they have any buns or anything left (the pretzel buns are awesome), they'll give it to you 2 for the price of 1!!
P.S. their cranberry bread tastes really good toasted with nutella on top.Listed in: Best Desserts in Vancouver, Reena M's Guide to Main St., Daaaaaammmmmmnnn Cheeeeeep!
2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
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5/6/2009
I had a sandwich here the other day and it was A-OK! I wish their bread slice was a little bit… Read more »
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Review from Dani B.
4/7/2009
This secret bakery is amazing if you can find it. It's tucked away right off of 2nd and if my friend didn't work here I probably would have never found it.
Go after 5 to get 50% off all their baked goods. This place has really amazing breads and baguettes but if your in here for a sweet treat you will not be disappointed.
Everything is made fresh right on the premises so you you are getting this stuff right from the source.
I've actually gone out of my way to get their 50% off deal after 5pm, which I think is a secret, until now.Listed in: Cheap and fast, just how I…
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Review from Lex B.
8/12/2010
This little bakery is by far my favorite place to pick up sandwiches. They have all kinds, but my end-all favorite is the ones that are made on PRETZEL BREAD. Dense, soft, topped in coarse salt, and filled with veggies, and cold cuts, they are thoroughly amazing. And don't get me started on the eclairs and desserts.. Everything I have ever picked up here is delicious. Just don't go expecting an eat-in atmosphere. For best results, take your picnic feast to a nearby park and eat on the grass.
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Review from Vanessa G.
10/11/2010
I didn't know this place existed until i randomly walked by it one day. I love there pretzels! Fresh, soft, salty. Just add mustard and i am good to go. I have grabbed coffee's and sandwich's here and it's all good. But it's all about the pretzels.
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Review from Liane B.
Thunder Bay, ON
11/24/2010
I looooove the cream horns here. The bread is also pretty fantastic and the sausage rolls are great for a quick snack on the go. My husband loves the pretzels and pretzel sandwiches. Wish they were open on Sundays!
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Review from Michael C.
Vancouver, BC
10/18/2010 3 Check-ins Here
The pretczels are OK I had some across the border at Bellis Fair that I like better much softer and buttery tasting.
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Review from JEN S.
3/11/2009
Yum, I second the pretzel bread. It is SO good. I usually try to get there before the lunch rush so I can make sure I get a sandwich, any sandwich, on the pretzel bread. All of their bread is great though, and I HATE crusts, but I love their crust. I made a mistake of ordering a sandwich that I did not know had raisins in the bread and almost gagged, I hate raisins, so I always ask. This is one of my favorite lunch spots in the area.
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Review from Jenny G.
Richmond, BC
2/28/2011
best baguettes in Vancouver. Sells parbaked, too (no HST?)
